Itinerary · 12 days · 47 places
12 Days in Costa Rica
Twelve days from the coffee plateau via Arenal Volcano and the cloud forest of Monteverde to the Pacific at Manuel Antonio — with sloths, hanging bridges in the canopy and hot springs beneath the volcano.
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Photo: Mariam · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in San José
Arrival in San José
Hotel check-in
Your base is in Barrio Escalante, the quiet turn-of-the-century district east of downtown, home to most of the city's best kitchens.
Barrio Escalante
A first stroll along Calle 33 between wooden villas, coffee roasters and open workshops, to keep moving after the long flight.
Day 2San José: gold, jade and coffee barons
Mercado Central
A covered market from 1880 with lanes full of spices, ox-cart paints and sodas, at whose counters the Ticos drink their café chorreado.
Museo del Oro Precolombino
Beneath the Plaza de la Cultura lie around 1,600 gold figures of the Diquís culture, with explanations of trade before the Spanish arrived.
Teatro Nacional
The opera house built with coffee money in 1897, with a marble staircase, a ceiling painting of the coffee harvest and tours on the hour.
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
Housed in the old Bellavista barracks, whose corner towers still bear bullet holes from 1948; a butterfly garden in front, the Diquís stone spheres inside.
Barrio Amón
The coffee exporters' quarter, with Caribbean wooden houses, Art Nouveau villas and street art on every other corner.
Evening: Calle 33 in Barrio Escalante
The city's bar and restaurant street, where tables are set out on the pavement in the evening and everything is within walking distance.
Day 3To Arenal Volcano
Onward to La Fortuna
Hotel check-in
Parque Central de La Fortuna
The village square with a white church and the volcano rising behind its tower — the most photographed view in the area.
Catarata Río Fortuna
500 concrete steps lead down into the gorge to a 70-metre waterfall with a turquoise pool, where you can swim at the edge.
Mirador El Silencio
A viewpoint on the solidified 1992 lava flow with an unobstructed view of the volcano and lake, especially in the last light.
Evening: Tabacón Hot Springs
Volcano-heated streams flow over terraces through the garden; in the evening the water steams under the floodlights.
Day 4Hanging bridges and lava fields
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges
A loop trail of a good three kilometres crosses six hanging bridges through the canopy; howler monkeys and toucans are loudest in the morning.
Represa del Lago Arenal
On the dam of the reservoir, which supplies around a sixth of the country's electricity, you stand between the expanse of water and the flank of the volcano.
Sendero Arenal 1968
A private trail across the lava flow from the devastating 1968 eruption, with information boards and the best view of the southern flank.
Mirador El Castillo
The village on the south shore is closest to the crater; from the road above you see the lake and cone in a single frame.
Evening: Baldi Hot Springs
25 thermal pools stepping down the hillside, with water temperatures from 33 to 67 degrees, open into the night.
Day 5Sloths at the foot of the volcano
Arenal Volcano National Park, Península sector
The official park entrance, with trails through secondary forest to the viewpoint above the cooled lava field.
Ecocentro Danaus
A small reserve with a lagoon where sloths, caimans and poison dart frogs are reliably seen, plus a butterfly house.
El Salto Rope Swing
A freely accessible bend in the Río Fortuna, where a rope hangs over the water and the village youngsters jump in.
Reserva Bogarín
Former pastureland that has grown back into forest; the guides almost always find two-toed and three-toed sloths here.
Evening: Calle Central in La Fortuna
The streets around the Parque Central, with souvenir shops, ice-cream parlours and bars playing live music.
Day 6Into the Monteverde cloud forest
Onward to Monteverde
Hotel check-in
Jardín de Mariposas Monteverde
Four walk-through enclosures arranged by climate zone, plus an insectarium with a leafcutter ant highway.
Ranario de Monteverde
Terrariums with around 25 of the country's frog species; keep your ticket and you can come back in the evening when the frogs are calling.
Café Monteverde coffee farm
A tour of the plantation, drying and roasting at a cooperative farm, ending with a tasting.
Evening: night walk in the Refugio de Vida Silvestre
With a torch and a guide through the forest, when tarantulas, kinkajous and glass frogs are on the move.
Day 7In the cloud forest canopy
Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
The heart of the region: moss-draped trees on the Continental Divide and, with luck, a quetzal in an avocado tree.
Selvatura Park hanging bridges
Eight bridges up to 170 metres long span the ravines at treetop height, so you see the forest from above.
Jardín de Orquídeas Monteverde
Over 450 orchid species in a small space, including the world's smallest flower, visible only through a magnifying glass.
Evening: Bar Amigos in Santa Elena
The village meeting place, with pool tables, live music and a view over the lights of the lowlands.
Day 8Down to the Pacific
Onward to Manuel Antonio
Hotel check-in
Marina Pez Vela in Quepos
A marina with a promenade, where the deep-sea fishermen come in during the morning and the pelicans in the afternoon.
Playa Biesanz
A small sheltered cove at the end of a forest path, with calm water that makes it the best swimming beach in the area.
Playa Espadilla Norte
A long open beach in front of the national park, where the sun drops into the Pacific shortly after half past five.
Evening: Barba Roja
A terrace high above the bay with views of the offshore islands, a bar with live music in the evening.
Day 9Capuchin monkeys in the national park
Manuel Antonio National Park
On the main trail, guides use their telescopes to point out sloths, capuchin monkeys and red-eyed tree frogs in the coastal rainforest.
Punta Catedral loop
A circular trail over the wooded headland, once an island, with two viewing platforms above the cliffs.
Playa La Macha
A hidden cove with rocks and shade, reached on foot via an inconspicuous path from the road.
Evening: Ronny's Place
A viewing terrace on a hill above two bays, where you watch the sunset and then the stars.
Day 10Mangroves and Rainmaker
Isla Damas mangroves
By boat through the channels of the mangrove forest, where white-faced monkeys, crocodiles and bats sit close to the bank.
Rainmaker Park
A private reserve in the mountains behind Quepos with hanging bridges over a gorge and natural pools for swimming.
Malecón de Quepos
The waterfront of the old banana port, with fishing boats, murals and the market on the main street.
Evening: Z Gastro Bar at the marina
A bar on the harbour basin where the boat crews sit in the evening and the masts are lit up.
Day 11Coffee in the Central Valley
Onward to Alajuela
Hotel check-in
Doka Estate coffee farm
A tour of the country's oldest working wet mill on the southern slope of Poás, from cherry to roast.
Museo Histórico Juan Santamaría
In the old armoury, the museum tells the story of the drummer boy from Alajuela who fell in 1856 fighting William Walker's filibusters.
Parque Central de Alajuela
The square of mango trees in front of the cathedral, where half the town meets to chat in the late afternoon.
Evening: Paseo de la Cultura in Alajuela
The pedestrian zone between the cathedral and the market, with street musicians and open cafés in the evening.
Day 12Crater, waterfall, departure
Poás Volcano National Park
From the secured viewing balcony you look into a crater 1.3 kilometres wide with a turquoise acid lake that steams constantly.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
A trail of steps and walkways leads past five waterfalls on the Río La Paz, plus aviaries with toucans and a hummingbird garden.
Departure from San José
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